Conspiracy Theories

In the early 1970s, when he was still an Archbishop, Albino Luciani caught wind of a shady banking scheme involving Italian banker Roberto Calvi and the Vatican. Years later – and just 33 days into his tenure as Pope John Paul I – he was found dead. Did stepping into the Vatican’s affairs cost him his life? Keep up with us on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...

After Malcolm X was assassinated, three men were arrested. Despite holes in the investigation and the prosecution’s case, all three went to prison. In the years that followed, people close to Malcolm insisted there was more to the story. But then, decades later, after new information emerged in a 2020 docuseries Manhattan’s then-District Attorney decided to re-examine the case. Keep up with us on...

Malcolm X’s radical ideas about racial justice won him many followers, and spawned just as many enemies. When Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, three men were promptly arrested. But for decades, questions have lingered about whether the right men went to prison, and more importantly, who told them to pull the trigger. Keep up with us on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Have a story to share? Email u...

Brazil, 1966. Two men in suits were found dead on a hill, surrounded by odd notes, and wearing lead eye masks. With no sign of violence, police were baffled. Theorists linked the men to occult rituals, criminal conspiracy, and maybe even alien contact. Keep up with us on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Have a story to share? Email us at conspiracystories@spotify.com Learn more about your ad choices....

In 1973, author and activist Oscar Zeta Acosta told his son he was getting on a boat, and would see him soon. But Acosta was never seen again. Theories range from a drug deal gone wrong, to a faked death, to an FBI assassination. Keep up with us on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Have a story to share? Email us at conspiracystories@spotify.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...

In May 2000, 32-year-old Australian astrophysicist Rodney Marks died suddenly on an Antarctica base after falling ill just 36 hours earlier. The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a statement saying he most likely died of natural causes. But when the toxicology report came back, it revealed he had actually been poisoned by methanol. How did the methanol get in his system? And why did New Z...

Teenager Jane Grey was never supposed to be Queen of England. But in 1553, a complex conspiracy put her on the throne. A year later, another conspiracy led to her death. Historians call Jane a pawn, but she may have been a conspirator herself. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Follow us to keep up with the show and get behind-the-scenes updates from Carter and the team. Learn...

In 1976, a military coup led to an authoritarian regime in Argentina. The military and its new leader, Lieutenant General Jorge Rafaél Videla, then launched a campaign to eradicate political dissidents. Thousands of Argentine citizens were kidnapped, illegally detained, tortured, and killed. Journalist Miriam Lewin survived. All these years later, she thinks she maybe has an explanation why. Miria...

In the mid-19th century, British-occupied Ireland lost roughly one-third of its population during a years-long catastrophe known as “The Great Hunger” or, “The Irish Potato Famine.” In the years that followed, some have wondered if the tragedy wasn’t the result of a natural disaster, but the intentional efforts of the British government to annihilate Irish people and their culture. The idea that t...

In early 2025, the FBI announced that they had found more than 2,000 new records related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. What do they include? Why did it take so long to find them? How many will be made public? The world waits to find out. In late 2023, we sat down with journalist, author, and co-founder of the substack JFK Facts Jefferson Morley. We discussed revelations regarding the CIA’s k...

When youth minister, husband, and new father Wesley Barrett Cox goes missing in rural Texas in 1984, authorities and his family assume he’s the victim of foul play. But after more investigation, some law enforcement officials think Cox intended to disappear. His family doesn’t buy it. Each theory gets put to the test over sixteen years later…when Cox reappears with a new name and no memory of his...

In the summer of 2022, an explosion destroyed the granite monument known as The Georgia Guidestones. Modeled after Stonehenge, the structure was built in 1980 and backed by a mysterious group of sponsors led by pseudonymous figure RC Christian. The purpose of the Guidestones – and the true identity of the man who built them – has been secret ever since. Were the Guidestones a pillar for Satanism,...

An alternative-history conspiracy theory has been taking root on YouTube and Reddit forums. It alleges that a long-enduring, advanced society called Tartaria built much of our perennial architecture worldwide. After a catastrophic mudslide took out most Tartarian citizens, the theory goes, their remaining buildings are now being systematically dismantled to suppress the truth about their origin. H...

In 1966, Bobby Fuller was a rising rockstar. His eponymous band and their song "I Fought the Law" was climbing the charts when he suddenly died. As is the case with many rockstars, theories about his death abound. Was his death really an accident or suicide, or could it have been a hit from the LA mob…or even Charles Manson? Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod! Follow us to keep...

In 1897, locals of Aurora, Texas reported a UFO had crashed in their town. They supposedly discovered the body of an extraterrestrial, buried it in the cemetery, and never spoke of it again. Decades later, an Aurora resident claims the whole thing was a hoax, which prompts several UFO investigations to set out to either dig up the body...or the truth Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspir...

In 1969, the Manson Family disrupted the “Summer of Love” when they murdered multiple people across a two-night span in Los Angeles. After Charles Manson and his followers were caught later that year, one of the strangest and most highly-publicized trials in American history followed. This is the story most people know. But some believe the Manson Family may have at least one more victim…the man w...

On September 4, 1985, a British tabloid published a story attributing dozens of fires to a painting of a crying boy that had been mass produced in the 50s. After each fire, nothing survived but the painting, unscathed. Was the painting cursed by the spirit of the crying boy, or was it a hoax? Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspiracy.pod! Follow us to keep up wi...

Ned Doheny, the only heir to one of the world's richest oil baron was found shot to death next to his childhood friend and secretary Hugh Plunkett in 1929. Investigators at the time ruled it a murder-suicide. But to this day, the crime is a source of rumor and speculation. Was it a muder-suicide or just made to look that way? Or was it tied to a bigger scandal involving millions of dollars, govern...

In 1973, eight Americans attempted to summit Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western and southern hemispheres. Only six returned. Sounds like the notoriously deadly mountain collected two more victims. Or maybe that’s just what the killer wants you to think. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspiracy.pod! Follow us to keep up with the show and get behind-t...

In 1901 Montreal, two members of the elite Redpath family were found dead from gunshot wounds in their luxurious mansion. The family’s intense secrecy around the deaths bordered on pathological. This bizarre behavior only intensified a curiosity that persists today about what has become a classic Victorian-era whodunnit. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspiracy....

In Carter's second Best of 2024 pick, we're returning to explore the remarkable life of legendary magician Harry Houdini and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. We’ll be back with new episodes of Conspiracy Theories next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Continuing our holiday break, we're bringing you some of Carter's favorite episodes from this year! His first Best of 2024 pick re-examines the question that's been debated by scientists and ufologists for decades: Are we alone in the universe? And if not... where are all the aliens? We’ll be back with new episodes of Conspiracy Theories on December 25! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

This is the second week of our four-week holiday break. Today we’re featuring another one of Carter’s favorite shows: Otherworld.  In this episode of Otherworld, host Jack Wagner interviews Annalise about an unusual camping trip she took with her boyfriend, at a spot that had been in her family for decades. The location was very isolated, off the grid, and required a six-mile hike through dense fo...

This is the first week of our four-week holiday break. Today we’re featuring one of Carter’s favorite shows: Truthless. In this episode of Truthless, host Brian Phillips talks to The Kid Mero about the time he landed a job in the mail room at one of New York’s biggest investment banks, as a teenager. After deciding he was ready for a promotion, Mero talked his way into a new job in the IT departme...

In 1984, Boris Weisfeiler went on a backpacking trip in Chile and never returned. Chilean investigators insist he drowned, but his family and the U.S. Embassy don’t buy it. It takes decades for the truth to emerge, one bit of evidence at a time. With each new piece of the puzzle, a more and more outlandish picture emerges. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspirac...